


Look Away

by Horrible_Rocking_Chair



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12968880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Horrible_Rocking_Chair/pseuds/Horrible_Rocking_Chair
Summary: In the Room, the Batter had a nightmare.





	Look Away

The Queen woke up to the sound of the Batter stirring next to her.  She looked up from the mattress, and noticed that the hour was still very late at night.  The Batter was an early riser, without a doubt, but it was unlike him to be conscious before at least 5 AM.  The Queen rolled over to face him, and saw that he was still in bed.

The Batter was turned away from her, muttering something and shivering.  The Queen frowned.

"My love?" she whispered.  The Batter made no response.  He kept shivering, and the Queen couldn't understand what he was saying or who he was saying it to.  She reached out and touched his back, and he felt cold.

She sat up to look at him better.  The Batter's eyes were shut tight, still asleep, and his body was curled up into a horseshoe shape.  He groaned and clawed at the bedsheets, clearly suffering from some sort of unpleasant dream.

"My love," she whispered again, tapping him on the shoulder, "Wake up, you're having a nightmare."  But the Batter only pulled the blankets in closer to himself, and made a particularly miserable-sounding groan.

The Queen raised her voice a bit, "Wake up, Batter."  She tapped him again.  The Batter didn't respond.  He twisted and made a loud, awful, sad sound.  The Queen gripped his shoulder and jostled him.

"Batter, you must wake up!" she said.

 _"No..."_ the Batter whispered, but not to her.

The Queen shifted her grip and turned him onto his back, and one of his hands grabbed her by the wrist.  She winced-- his hold on her arm was painfully hard, like a vice, but he was still asleep, squirming and moaning fretfully.

"Batter, wake up!" she shouted, and shook him as hard as she could bear to.  "Please, wake up!"

The Batter cried out one last time, and his eyes flew open.  He was still shivering and holding the Queen's wrist, and his gaze gradually focused on her face.

"My Queen?" he said.  His voice was small and tired, still uneasy.

She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him.  "That's right, my love. I heard you, and was awakened. It's alright, now."

The Batter frowned and released her wrist, looking worried.  "What did you hear?"

"You were rambling. I could not understand you."

The Batter turned onto his side again, and the Queen laid down beside him.  They faced each other, and the Batter sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the Queen asked.

"No..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes... It was only a dream."  But he was still shaking.  The Queen scooted closer to him, and held his hand.  The Batter let her, and they were both silent for a while.

"It was terrible," he finally said, "The world, _his_ world, was overrun with misery and phantoms of corruption. Nothing was safe. It was so..." his face scrunched up in disgust.   _"Impure."_

The Queen squeezed his hand, "It's safe now, my love. The children there are all happy. Your nightmare has ended."  She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, and he looked up at her.  The Batter's eyes were wide without his cap to obscure them, dark and staring.  He said nothing, but she kissed his cheek, and he relaxed.

"We should go back to sleep, now," the Queen said.

She pulled him close, and he nestled in comfortably, burying his face in her nightgown.  The Batter sighed and closed his eyes.  He was secure in her loving embrace, fitting just right against her soft, warm body.  It was unlikely that another nightmare would visit him, that night.

"Goodnight," the Batter muttered to her.

"Dream sweet dreams," the Queen whispered to him.  She smiled, and together they both drifted off back to sleep.


End file.
